# At what point do the Feds start looking at my bank account? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084 "2006-12-14T05:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/1 "2006-12-14T05:42:51Z")
Do I need to make a single 10,000 dollar deposit for them to notice? Or is it 10,000 dollars in a certain amount of time, say 1500 a day for a week? If a I make small deposits, when would they take notice of my balance? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/2 "2006-12-14T05:48:56Z")
Any deposit over $10,000 will cause the bank to file a Currency Transaction Report with the Treasury Department. If you engage in suspicious activity – for example, making many deposits of slightly less than $10,000, the bank will file a Suspicious Activity Report. Neither report automatically triggers an investigation; tens of thousands of CTRs are filed every day. But if you raise suspicion for some other reason, or there are a lot of SARs with your name on them, then the Feds may want to have a word with you. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/3 "2006-12-14T05:57:43Z")
That’s why my student loan check took so long to clear! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/4 "2006-12-14T06:14:37Z")
[QUOTE=hawksgirl] That’s why my student loan check took so long to clear! [/QUOTE] I doubt it – CTRs are filed when the transaction is made, but they don’t slow down or stop the transaction itself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/5 "2006-12-14T07:15:30Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Any deposit over $10,000 will cause the bank to file a Currency Transaction Report with the Treasury Department. If you engage in suspicious activity – for example, making many deposits of slightly less than $10,000, the bank will file a Suspicious Activity Report. Neither report automatically triggers an investigation; tens of thousands of CTRs are filed every day. But if you raise suspicion for some other reason, or there are a lot of SARs with your name on them, then the Feds may want to have a word with you. [/QUOTE] Right, and they could come up in a Tax Audit. “Pardon me Mr Surbey, but you claim you make $25000/year as a wire hangar repairman, and you have no other income. What then is the source for these 12 CTRs for $15000 each?” ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/6 "2006-12-14T07:26:34Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Any deposit over $10,000 will cause the bank to file a Currency Transaction Report with the Treasury Department. If you engage in suspicious activity – for example, making many deposits of slightly less than $10,000, the bank will file a Suspicious Activity Report. [/QUOTE] I was under the impression that a currency transaction report was only for cash deposits. Is that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/7 "2006-12-14T08:59:27Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] I was under the impression that a currency transaction report was only for cash deposits. Is that wrong? [/QUOTE] Sort of. Yes, the CTR only involves cash, but it is filed whenever \>= $10,000 is deposited or withdrawn. The CTR should be filed for transactions involving 10k in one business day. Ideally, two deposits of $5000 would trigger this, but bank software probably won’t catch this automatically. Banks also have to file a Monetary Instrument Log if cashier’s checks or other negotiable instruments are purchased with cash, I believe in the range of $3000 to $9999. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/8 "2006-12-14T17:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=thelurkinghorror] Sort of. Yes, the CTR only involves cash, but it is filed whenever \>= $10,000 is deposited or withdrawn. The CTR should be filed for transactions involving 10k in one business day. Ideally, two deposits of $5000 would trigger this, but bank software probably won’t catch this automatically. Banks also have to file a Monetary Instrument Log if cashier’s checks or other negotiable instruments are purchased with cash, I believe in the range of $3000 to $9999. [/QUOTE] To clarify- only CASH. No Cash, no CTR. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/9 "2006-12-14T17:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=thelurkinghorror] The CTR should be filed for transactions involving 10k in one business day. Ideally, two deposits of $5000 would trigger this, but bank software probably won’t catch this automatically. [/QUOTE] Wanna bet? It’s trivially easy for us to look at both large cash transactions made in the same day, as well as large cash transactions made within x days of each other to flag either a CTR for same-day cash activity over $10,000 or an SAR for large cash activity over that span of days. I did it seven years ago with paper reports and it was easy then. With automation, it’s mindless, and well, automatic. BTW: transactions don’t cancel each other out. If you deposit $8,000 on Tuesday, and withdraw $3,000 on the same day, you’ll have a CTR filed for the $11,000 aggregate. If you deposit $8,000 on Tuesday and withdraw $3,000 on Wednesday, an SAR will be filed. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/10 "2006-12-14T19:23:16Z")
How about electronic transfers? For example, I have some money in Treasury Bills through Treasury Direct. When a bill matures (say for $10,000), it is direct deposited to my bank account. If I renew, the discounted amount (say $9,900) is then withdrawn. Based on the conversation above, this should trigger two notifications. Does it? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/11 "2006-12-14T21:15:47Z")
A direct deposit is not cash. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/12 "2006-12-14T21:17:18Z")
Oops… a virtual cat walked acrss the desk and hit Post. Direct deposit is not cash. The subject of CTRs and SARs is cold, hard, hold it in your hand, cash. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-do-the-feds-start-looking-at-my-bank-account/384084/13 "2006-12-14T21:30:52Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Oops… a virtual cat walked acrss the desk and hit Post. Direct deposit is not cash. The subject of CTRs and SARs is cold, hard, hold it in your hand, cash. [/QUOTE] Well, in reading the [actual PDF form](http://www.fincen.gov/forms/fin104_ctr.pdf), it does include non-cash transactions, including wire transfers, negotiable instruments, etc. Here is the site —\> [http://www.fincen.gov/reg\_bsaforms.html](http://www.fincen.gov/reg_bsaforms.html)